The present invention is directed to a toy vehicle and, in particular, to a toy vehicle whose physical behavior and operating characteristics can be selectively altered by a child playing with the toy vehicle, preferably by moving a simulated gear-shift lever, which permits the toy vehicle to perform multiple actions depending on the positon of the operative components as selected by the shift lever.
Toy vehicles such as toy automobiles which simulate the appearance and operation of real automobiles and which are capable of being self-propelled by an internal motor or the like have become popular with children of all ages. One such type of toy vehicle includes what has been commonly known as a pull-back motor. In such vehicles, the rear wheels of the toy vehicle are coupled to a motor which includes a spring which is tightened as the rear wheels are rolled backwards along a surface. In such fasion, the spring becomes tightened so that when the vehicle is released, the spring will relax and transfer its energy via torque to the rear wheels causing them to rotate in a forward direction to propel the toy vehicle in a forward direction. Mechanisms of the type under discussion are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,077,156 and 3,798,831. Other than being capable of changing the acceleration and speed of such toy vehicles depending upon the amount of energy stored in the spring, only one type of action, namely forward action on all four wheels is possible.
It would be extremely desirable if a toy vehicle having a motor which permits self-propulsion could be developed to perform multiple actions such as wheel stands, turning, spinning-out and the like. It would be even more desirble if such a toy vehicle could perform such multiple acions as controlled by a lever which simulates a real gear-shift lever in an automobile having a manual transmission whereby the placing of the gear-shift lever in a desired gear position in the toy vehicle results in different types of action to be performed by the toy vehicle. The present invention provides a multi-action toy vehicle which meets the desires expressed above.